Jealous
by levi-nii-san
Summary: It started with an innocent, "we should throw a party," after a mission. And now Eren sat, his irritation growing exponentially, as he watched Jean teach Mikasa how to dance. Suddenly, he felt utterly stupid for rejecting her just because he was afraid of how he would look. [EreMika]


_100 prompts: Jealous_

 _EreMika_

 _A/N: When I imagined this, I assumed it takes place after chapter 50 (s02e12), but I guess the timing is irrelevant so it's totally up to you. I had gotten the PS4 game, Attack on Titan 2, and this was inspired to write this by some dialogue between my character and Ymir, in which I suggest, "we should throw a party" and she was totally game haha. Also, yes, I've changed my username again looool._

 _Anyway, enjoy! This is how I cope._

* * *

It started with an innocent, "we should throw a party."

Really, Sasha meant nothing by it. She had been getting nasty vibes from an agitated Ymir, and she was merely trying to lift her spirits by jokingly suggesting that the 104th squad should throw a party. Much to her (and everyone else's) surprise, the person in question had lit up and agreed, subsequently pressuring everyone else into the idea.

"Hah! As if! The superiors would beat our asses so hard if they caught us," She began, then a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes, making everyone uneasy. "Unless…"

And so, everyone found themselves in the mess hall that night: some lounging around, enjoying the bitter taste of cheap alcohol, others in the open area throwing their hips and limbs around to some music. A couple of the new recruits had found miscellaneous supplies that they were able to turn into makeshift percussion and string instruments, livening up the atmosphere.

It was a cheerful ambiance, and a breath of fresh air. Even soldiers who weren't totally up for throwing a party without the consent of the higher ups found the setting a pleasant one and stayed to hang out.

At first, there was a reasonable hint of paranoia in the air. And then everyone's heart had dropped 50 feet into their stomachs as soon as Levi barged in, intent to bust some shit heads. He spent thirty seconds just scanning the room before he decided that he might as well let the kids have their fun. Who knew when they would all be together like this again? Especially without bad vibes lingering around.

He simply sighed, "If I come back tomorrow morning and there's a mess, you'll all be eating your own asses." and that was enough to cheer everyone up.

"I'm genuinely surprised Levi-heichou didn't shut us down and punish us all," Armin sighed a breath of relief, relaxing forward onto his forearms.

The trio sat together at a table towards the edge of the room. Eren scoffed in response, "I know. Maybe he's not a stone-cold ass after all. Maybe he does know what fun is."

"Maybe he felt sorry for us," Armin added.

Mikasa sat in between the two of them, seemingly content with watching the crowd do their thing. In reality, Armin was the one who was truly satisfied with just observing everyone. The smile on his face from watching the rare sight of his comrades enjoying themselves was a breath of fresh air. To her right, Eren sat a little further, arms crossed.

She watched as the other girls acted like actual girls for once, instead of damaged soldiers: Ymir was attempting lewd dance moves on Christa and a couple other girls were trying to keep up with Sasha. They seemed to be enjoying themselves very much, and a big part of her wished Eren (or even Armin at this point) would show her a good time and make her feel like a normal girl for once.

Not Mikasa, humanity's third strongest; Mikasa, the cold-blooded Titan serial killer; Mikasa, the number one graduate from the 104th squad. Just Mikasa.

But Armin insisted that he really preferred just observing (something about being very introverted, he says, where all his experiences happen internally, so this was great. Mikasa sighed.)

And Eren flat out claimed he just doesn't want to embarrass himself. He nodded his head towards Jean, who was moving in all sorts of directions with the music, laughing with the crowd that surrounded him.

"He looks like an idiot," the boy scoffed.

Mikasa's face fell, and she mumbled something along the lines of, "okay, but he's having fun…" only to be dismissed.

When her aura suddenly darkened, Eren sensed it and immediately realized he may have offended her. He noticed that she was the only girl who didn't have a nice young man asking her to dance, and he immediately thought it might have been because of him. He watched her for a moment, and while she wore the same blank expression she always did, he knew her eyes expressed a sadness that only he (and probably Armin) could read.

The lighting in the room was a little dimmer than usual, giving off the party vibe, but the light hit her face in such a way that made her look almost angelic, despite being sad. Eren blinked a few times, a little buzzed, he had to admit. A few shots of cheap alcohol and an empty stomach had him thinking things he normally avoided thinking about.

Like how beautiful she really was.

How had he not noticed this whole time?

She deserved the world. Or if anything, she deserved to have fun right now and to be treated the way she wanted, at least once. Even worse, he could give it to her right now, if he could just stop being such a wuss.

He could ask her to dance, even if he had absolutely no idea how to (as long as he didn't look like Jean, he reasoned, they'd be fine). Certainly, that would bring a smile to her face and the burden would be lifted off his chest with that simple gesture.

She sighed, slumping into her seat ever so slightly, and he watched as the corners of her mouth fell a little. Eren wasn't sure if it was the alcohol, or if he really was just losing his mind, but a sudden and very strong urge to kiss her clouded his thoughts.

Maybe, he mused, that would earn him a smile.

He found himself leaning towards her, and as he reached out, her name rolling off his tongue smoothly, another voice appeared over his.

"Mikasa!"

Eren swears Sasha never had worse timing than this. She reached her hand out to the sulking girl, completely disregarding Eren's internal protests. It all happened so fast, he couldn't vocalize his annoyance with this interruption.

"What are you doing?" she grabbed Mikasa by the arm, pulling her up and across the table. "You should be having fun with us, not sulking, come on!"

Mikasa blushed, and the urge to kiss her hit Eren across the face again. He made it a new goal to make her blush more often.

"Sasha, I...I don't know. Really?" Mikasa stuttered, and Sasha giggled. It was rather uncharacteristic for Mikasa to falter like this. It was cute, though, and both Eren and Sasha wondered if the notorious Mikasa would have been this adorably shy if she had lived a normal life.

"What's wrong?" Sasha teased, hands on her hips, "The mighty Mikasa doesn't know how to dance?"

Mikasa had turned red at this point, and she tried to hide as much of her face as she could with her scarf. She wasn't sure if it was the realization that she actually didn't know how to do simple girl things like dance, or if it was Eren's surprised expression that had caused her to become so flustered.

"Oh, I'm just teasing" she grabbed her hand again, forcing Mikasa away from her boys, "I'll teach you, don't worry!"

She looked over to Armin and then to Eren, apprehensively. While Eren was too busy letting everything just happen, Armin nodded and pushed her to go have some fun. And just like that, the space between Eren and Armin was vacated, as the latter chuckled to himself at the events that had just unfolded. They watched Mikasa look clearly embarrassed, as Sasha took her to the edge of the dance floor. The music was tasteful, she had to admit, but she had no idea what she was doing.

As if she read her mind, Sasha laughed, took Mikasa's hands, and started moving them for her, "like this!" she tried explaining, swaying her hips from side to side in a rhythmic fashion, prompting her to mirror her actions. Mikasa's ears felt hot, she felt so watched and so silly. She looked down hesitantly.

"If you think too much," Sasha brought her chin up to look at her, "you'll end up looking stupid. Just relax and let go! Stop stressing!" she smiled a big, carefree smile that somehow managed to rid Mikasa of all the unnecessary thoughts in her head. Somehow, Mikasa felt, Sasha must have meant for her to stop stressing over everything else in her life too and just enjoy herself for once.

Eren watched her from afar, a smile tugging on his lips. And suddenly, he feels utterly stupid for rejecting her just because he was _afraid of how he would look_. In fact, _he_ probably was the one who looked stupid sulking in the corner, half drunk, while the rest of his friends were having fun. Especially since everyone expected him to be the party animal type with his rambunctious nature, had he been given a normal life.

Mikasa looked much more comfortable after a while. She was smiling, a real smile, and even laughing. All of this was so unlike her, and it was a sight he rarely got to see. She wasn't Mikasa, the annoying mother-like figure that always nagged him; Mikasa, the one who graduated with a higher rank than him; Mikasa, the poker-faced girl who only fussed and worried about him. She was just Mikasa, and it was such a sight for sore eyes.

She looked so happy, and though a huge part of him felt elated at the sight of her enjoyment, another part of him was a little sad that he wasn't the reason she was having the time of her life. It was ridiculous to even think about, and maybe the alcohol was getting to his head, but he wanted to be there beside her while she danced the night away and made some pleasant memories in the midst of their hellish lives.

"Are you gonna go join her then?" Armin pushed, sensing the slight hesitation in his best friend's movements.

"Ah," Eren stood up determinedly, "yeah."

He took a couple steps toward her, keeping his eyes only on her. For a moment it seemed like she was the only one in the room to him, like he was just inexplicably drawn to her. She seems to sense him approaching from across the room because her head turns in his direction and she gives him an inviting smile.

He swears his knees went weak.

But as soon as he moves even a few feet from the table, the next thing that happened, happened way too fast for him to react, again. Her attention is turned towards Jean, who had taken her by the hand, inviting her to dance with him.

Eren froze.

She seemed iffy at first, and sent Armin and Eren another hesitant glance, before Sasha cheered them on and pushed them deeper into the crowd.

"Are you fucking kidding me," Eren sat down, and Armin fought to suppress a laugh. Of course, this is how things turn out.

"Well, you waited too long," he shrugged, earning a glare from the boy who was now sulking beside him.

For the next few minutes, the two just watched as Jean took lead, teaching Mikasa ( _his_ Mikasa, Eren scowled) how to dance with him. To be honest, she had went with it because this was indeed what she wanted. Never in this life had she ever imagined a nice boy, that she trusted enough, teaching her how to dance. And she was enjoying herself.

"Who does he think he is?" Eren, feeling more and more agitated, voiced his opinion when he could no longer just keep it in. The alcohol was slowly starting to wear off, which annoyed him even more. Where were these thoughts even coming from if he was starting to sober up?

Armin almost laughed, "What do you mean? He's just having fun with her. Is that bad?"

"Whose side are you on?" he snapped. Armin just rolled his eyes, unfazed by his best friend's temper.

"That could have easily been you, Eren," he countered instead, effectively shutting him up. "Why are you even upset anyway?"

Eren's eyebrows came together. Armin knew the answer to that question, he was just playing his cards so that he could get some stupid confession out of him.

Mikasa returned a few minutes later, a little breathless. The sight left Eren slightly hot and bothered. The way her cheeks were slightly pink, which was obvious against her fair skin, and her forehead was lightly damp from sweat, and her chest was rising and falling evenly as she tried to catch her breath...it was just adding to the pile of agitation Eren was currently already dealing with. He frowned as his pants felt a little tighter.

"Are you sure you'd rather sit there and watch?" She asked innocently. "It's actually fun." her voice is low and collected as usual, but her eyes said otherwise.

"I'll think about it," Armin smiled. "Looks like you're actually enjoying yourself, Mikasa. Is Jean a good dancer?"

Eren turned to Armin, who wore a smug grin. Before he could snap at him, Mikasa interrupted, a small smile on her face, almost secretive, "He's not bad."

Then she noticed Eren's sour expression. "Eren, what's wrong?"

He felt guilty for a moment. She was finally just enjoying herself and now she's fussing over him again. Instead of handling it properly though, he ended up even more annoyed, "I'm fine, just go have fun with horse-face."

Mikasa gave him an unreadable look for a second, before she looked away.

"Alright," she relented, returning to the dance floor.

"Eren…" Armin brought a palm to his forehead.

"I know," he grumbled, and Armin decided to keep quiet for the rest of the night.

When the tempo of the music changed to a much slower one, Jean had gently offered his hand to Mikasa, proposing that he teach her how to slow dance as well. She smiled softly and agreed, allowing him to pull her closer. She kept a safe distance, to ensure that he didn't get any wrong ideas. He seemed to understand and respected her space, so she was comfortable.

However, that's not what it looked like at all to Eren from afar. Armin raised his eyebrows, genuinely surprised that _Mikasa_ let _Jean_ touch her like that.

Eren stood up ungracefully and left with an, "I need some fresh air."

* * *

Long after the mess hall had been emptied out, Eren stood outside the men's barracks. He had attempted to go to sleep. But his efforts were futile after he realized that every time he closed his eyes, the image of her disappointed face burned in his mind, accompanied by the picture of Jean with _his_ Mikasa that close to each other.

He took a deep breath and rehearsed what he might want to tell her in his head a few times before getting startled by another figure in the dark.

"Shit," he gasped. He narrowed his eyes to see that it was none other than, "Mikasa?"

"Hey," she nodded at him.

"What are you doing up?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I couldn't sleep," he admitted. Before she could ask why, he took her gently by the wrist, "let's take a walk."

In reality, Mikasa had also hoped he would be awake so that she could talk to him. Part of her felt guilty that she just let him sit, sulking, all night, when they could have talked it out. But another part of her was glad she just got some time to be herself for once. In the end, she decided that perhaps at least seeing him would ease her restlessness.

"I still can't believe we got away with that party," Eren chuckled, effectively breaking the silence. His eyes were kept forward, but his tone was relaxed. He seemed comfortable just being alone with her.

Mikasa chuckled lightly, the soft sound filled his ears.

"I'm sure they knew," she smiled. Her steps naturally matched his. "Levi must have told them. I think they were just looking out for us. After all, it's not every day we get to enjoy ourselves like that."

"Yeah," he agreed quietly.

They stopped at a place lightly illuminated by the captain's quarters, but just outside of the peripherals of the window. He looked down to her. A small smile decorated her lips, and he suddenly had the urge to touch her. He resisted.

"You enjoyed yourself, didn't you?" He wasn't angry, or hurt, or anything he might have previously felt. He just genuinely wanted to know.

"I did," she answered without hesitation. "I got to see how normal girls spend leisure time, instead of always just training and working out."

He smiled, and offered a hand to her, as if to slow dance. Mikasa flushed red, completely frozen in her tracks.

She seemed to be at loss of words, just looking at his extended hand, "Eren...what…"

Instead of explaining, he takes her by the hand and the waist and pulls her close. He waits a moment as she regains composure, following the slow, rhythmic sways as he leads her slowly. There was no music this time, but the loud sounds of her heart thumping uncontrollably in her chest filled her ears. He took a deep breath and relaxed, resting his chin on the top of her head.

She mirrored his actions and seemed to relax immensely, resting her head on his chest. It was so intimate; it was nothing like her dance with Jean earlier. She felt excitement and peace at the same time, it was a strange mix.

"You left the party," she stated quietly, but waited for a response. "I saw."

"Yeah," he sighed after a while, unsure of how to explain himself. "I didn't exactly enjoy watching you and Jean."

"Hmm," she hummed in response, thankful that he couldn't see her face. After all, that was the last response she had expected from him. She decided not to prod any further.

"Well if you stayed, you would have seen Armin dance," she changed the subject. "He's pretty good."

"Ah yeah, I've seen him dance," Eren lightened up. "When we were kids, remember?"

"Oh," Mikasa paused, "it's just been so long."

Silence followed, but it was neither awkward nor unpleasant. They both just seemed to just enjoy the other's company, until Eren spoke up again.

"I'm sorry for acting the way I did earlier. You deserve to be happy."

Mikasa felt like she was on cloud nine. "Thank you, Eren," she breathed, relaxing against him. There was another brief, but comfortable silence, then she smiled deviously against his chest, "I'm sorry that you got jealous of Jean."

"What-!" he tried to push her off, but she just held on, laughing.

"It's okay, Eren," she gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"I never said that!" he squirmed. "Mikasa!"


End file.
